Question

What were the causes of the Civil War? Address five of the following in your response: Wilmot Proviso, Fugitive Slave Law, Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Underground Railroad, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott decision, and Harpers Ferry, and the 1860 Republican Platform, including free labor and tariffs. How did these issues demonstrate tensions and conflict between the North and the South. What might the US have done other than go to war over these issues? Think of a compromise or alternative course. Do you think these alternatives would have prevented the war, or simply postponed it?

Answer 1

The causes of the Civil War included legislative compromises, cultural conflicts, and sectional divisions over slavery, with notable events such as the Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the 1860 Republican Platform heightening tensions. Compromise seemed increasingly difficult as economic, social, and political beliefs diverged, potentially rendering the war inevitable.

Step-by-step explanation:

The causes of the Civil War are multifaceted, with several events exacerbating tensions between the North and the South, ultimately making the war seem inevitable. The Compromise of 1850, which included the Fugitive Slave Law, aimed to balance the interests of slave and free states but failed to address underlying sectional tensions. The Underground Railroad defied the Fugitive Slave Law, exemplifying northern resistance to slavery and further inciting southern concerns about the security of the institution. The Kansas-Nebraska Act overturned the Missouri Compromise and led to Bleeding Kansas, with proslavery and antislavery forces clashing violently, signaling the breakdown of political compromise.

Uncle Tom's Cabin inflamed public opinion against slavery, while the Dred Scott decision denied Congress the power to prohibit slavery in the territories, bolstering the proslavery argument and outraging the North. The Harper's Ferry raid attempted to initiate a slave uprising, further polarizing the nation. The 1860 Republican Platform endorsed free labor and high tariffs, advocating for economic policies favoring the industrial North over the agricultural South.

These issues demonstrated that the North and South had reached a point where their economic, social, and political differences centered on the issue of slavery became too great to reconcile through compromise. The United States might have attempted more negotiation or stronger enforcement of the existing compromises to avoid war, but these might have only postponed conflict. The fundamental disagreement over the morality and future of slavery was such that a lasting peaceful resolution seems unlikely